Song that are too challenging

[jodecahedron]

Hello,
I need some advice on how to approach Chopin 12 etudes? My teacher wants me to work through them whenever I get bored of my other songs and from what I've seen- they're way too hard. I'm officially a grade 5 and recently have been taking a break from grades, learning songs that are Grade 6/7 without problem. These seem like concert pianist level though. Is this something I can logically do with effort or should I just drop it now?
Thanks

[stevensk]

-Songs??

[dogperson]

Have you asked your teacher?   You need to honestly let him/her know you think these are beyond your capability to 'just work on them when you have time' and get some guidance.

Maybe your teacher could substitute some other repertoire that would help you work on the same skills, if you ask. .. or maybe your teacher would like to take one of them and walk you through how to practice it during your lesson. 

[nastassja]

The Etudes vary greatly in difficulty, some are easier than others. The slow ones are not too hard; but if I am not mistaken, you have been playing for 1 year and a half? It is too early to play the Chopin etudes in my opinion, but there are other beautiful Etudes by other composers that you could play.

Is your teacher trained in classical music? If your teacher specializes in pop music or other genres, it would be good to have a classical teacher guide you through the Etudes. Someone who has training and has played the etudes should know their level of difficulty and be able to tell you which ones you can play. Also, if you post a link of your recordings, maybe some advanced students or teachers from the forum could help you.

[j_tour]

The Debussy/Mallarmé's songs are pretty challenging to me -- hard to find the pulse.  Also, I don't know a singer who is up to doing them, and my own voice is out of the question.

And I don't care what people say, I still have trouble playing the Erlkönig octaves as fast as some people can.